Astro Turf

As a substrate, does anybody have any experience of astro turf, or any educated opinions?

Looking in to it as an alternative as lottie ate the sand we were using and i don't like it bare because the axolotls seem to spend most of the time they should spend walking just flailing around.

Thanks

I would worry about it degrading. I remember astro turf always becoming flakey after a while, I would worry about what that does to the water. Reptile turf might work.

MrsNubcake said:

As a substrate, does anybody have any experience of astro turf, or any educated opinions?

Looking in to it as an alternative as lottie ate the sand we were using and i don't like it bare because the axolotls seem to spend most of the time they should spend walking just flailing around.

Thanks

Click to expand...

hi, i use artificial grass, i have had the same piece in my tank for over 20 months and not had any problems at all, if you buy decent stuff it wont break up, i did buy some cheap stuff from a garden centre but when i cut it to size it started breaking away all the time so didnt use it. my axies love it on the bottom, i hardly see them swimming only for food or to gulp some air from top of tank, they spend most of the day WALKING around, which my friends and family are amazed by :-0 ill add a pic so you can see what it looks like in the tank, i have two tanks one with green grass and one with white.

Thank you so much for the pictures Stacey. I will definitely be buying my little axies some astro turf now

Stacey87 said:

hi, i use artificial grass, i have had the same piece in my tank for over 20 months and not had any problems at all, if you buy decent stuff it wont break up, i did buy some cheap stuff from a garden centre but when i cut it to size it started breaking away all the time so didnt use it. my axies love it on the bottom, i hardly see them swimming only for food or to gulp some air from top of tank, they spend most of the day WALKING around, which my friends and family are amazed by :-0 ill add a pic so you can see what it looks like in the tank, i have two tanks one with green grass and one with white.

Click to expand...

Would you be able to tell us what to look for in good quality grass and maybe where you got yours from? I just switched my tank from sand to big rocks and so far The Dude isn't liking it at all. I'm thinking he might really like the grass but I'm not sure where to find some Down Under that will last well and not introduce any chemicals.

Very clean looking set up, Looks good. Could you possible link where you bought the turf? Thanks

Is it normal Astroturf?
Found this which might help:

Carpeting

General Precaution
The glue used in most carpeting outgasses for several days, even weeks after installation. To ensure the safety of your reptiles, air out pieces that will be used in their enclosures for at least a week before installing it. When carpeting your home or school room, all animals, but especially birds and reptiles, should be removed to a safe location for 10-14 days until the rooms are completely aired out and toxic gasses dissipated. Even when using carpeting with special, environmentally friendly (less toxic, vastly reduced outgassing) backings, the animals should be removed for several days to let outgassing chemicals dissipate thoroughly.

Astroturf® / Artificial Grass
Astroturf® was the first artificial grass floor covering. Since then, carpet manufacturers have come out with many grades of artificial grass. Hardware stores and builder supply stores generally carry two or more grades. The least expensive is generally the best to use. It is more flexible, an important factor for thorough cleaning and disinfecting. The ragged cut edges may be folded under and basted to prevent fraying. Pieces can be washed and disinfected repeatedly before they require replacing. This substrate can be used for any terrestrial, arboreal, or fossorial reptile. It is cheap enough that several pieces can be cut for each enclosure and rotated each cleaning day. The pieces of artificial grass substrate sold in small, prepackaged pieces in many pet stores and mail order pet suppliers is the same as the product sold in builder supply stores.

Indoor/ Outdoor Carpeting
This product, also available at builder supply stores, looks more like indoor carpeting but is made for outdoor use as well. In its construction, it is more like the more rigid, more expensive grades of artificial grass and is difficult to clean and disinfect.

Household / Industrial Carpeting
With their deeper piles and very rigid backings, these carpets are difficult to clean and disinfect, and should be avoided for use as a substrate. They may be used to cover slick tubes or branches to create climbers for lizards (similar to cat trees made for cats).

Reptile Carpeting
These are fibrous, absorbent pads made in sizes to fit standard-sized enclosures. They wick the moisture away from the surface, but since most reptile deposits are solid feces rather than urates, this feature will not reduce cleaning time except for those species who deposit very dry, compact pellets. Expensive when compared to suitable household products.

Is astro turf soft enough for them? I keep picturing it in my head as hard and pokey. But what I am remembering probably isnt actual astro turf, just plastic grass lol.